A previous update analyzed the critical case of Monroe Guaranty Ins. Co. v. Bitco Gen. Ins. Corp., where the Texas Supreme Court recognized an exception to Texas’s “eight corners rule” but found the exception inapplicable to...more
Recently, a bankruptcy judge denied a request by a creditors’ committee to sue the insurers of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre (the “Debtor”). The judge found that the Official Committee of Unsecured...more
The discovery rule applies to latent injuries, such that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the plaintiff knows of or should have known of the injury. In Western World Ins. Group v. KC Welding, LLC, No....more
A recent ruling in Texas has given insurers another arrow in their quiver when determining whether they have a duty to defend in cases where coverage may not exist. In Monroe Guaranty Ins. Co. v. Bitco Gen. Ins. Corp., the...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, applying Florida law, has held that an insurer had no obligation to provide any coverage for its insured’s unallocated, lump-sum settlement payment made...more
A federal court in Michigan just breathed new life into a long-running legal saga—while at the same time issuing a warning shot across the bows of insurers—by declining to dismiss an insured’s bad faith cause of action...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Foreclosure/Deficiency Judgment: where a foreclosing bank acquires in rem jurisdiction via service by publication in underlying foreclosure action, bank may still seek personal service over an...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a per curiam opinion in De Jongh v. State Farm Lloyds, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21432 (5th Cir. 2016) that clarified a typical but potentially tricky question involving...more
A signatory may bind a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement through principles of contract and agency law such as: (1) incorporation by reference; (2) assumption; (3) agency; (4) veil-piercing/alter-ego; and (5)...more
Courts across the country (and particularly since Super Storm Sandy in 2012) have consistently held that, in litigation involving a dispute concerning the investigation, adjustment, or payment of a flood claim under the...more
Normally, the statute of limitations sets in when “the cause of action shall have accrued,” to quote California Code of Civil Procedure section 312. In an effort to simplify that date for lay readers, the Sacramento County...more